Ark. Improperly Diverted School Funds, State Supreme Court Rules

The Arkansas Department of Education improperly diverted money from
part of the public-school fund to pay for school desegregation, but a
separate allocation by the state legislature to finance school
integration was constitutional, the state supreme court has ruled.

The seven-member court issued its unanimous ruling Nov. 19 in a
class-action suit brought by the Magnolia school district on behalf of
itself and all public-school districts in the state.

The court determined that the Arkansas Department of Education
should not have diverted money from the state minimum-foundation aid
fund for schools to assist desegregation programs in Pulaski County and
elsewhere.

However, it also said that the diverted funds, totaling
approximately $14 million, need not be returned. Pulaski County
includes the Little Rock and North Little Rock school districts.

The Little Rock schools also received some $10.5 million from the
legislature for desegregation-related costs. The court held that move
constitutional.

After the lawsuit was filed in 1988, the state legislature
authorized use of general state funds to aid desegregation, so that
money intended for public-school purposes need not be tapped.

"We contended that it was illegal" to divert money from the minimum
aid fund to pay for desegregation, said Samuel A. Perroni, a lawyer for
the districts named in the suit. "Both the trial court and the supreme
court agreed."

First 'Report Cards' for Maryland

Show Most Districts 'Failing'

Maryland's 24 school districts received their first "report cards"
last month, and a string of F's showed that most have not met new state
standards on dropouts, school attendance, and skills achievement.

Despite the grades, state education officials remained upbeat about
the tougher standards, approved by the state board of education last
August, and about the report cards that are meant to force compliance
and accountability.

The release of the report cards "marks the starting point for a new
level of excellence across the board in our schools," Joseph L.
Shilling, state school superintendent, said in a news release.

The report showed that 20 school districts have too many dropouts
and that 23 have not met high-school attendance standards. Only 4 have
met the goal of having no more than 3 percent of high-school students
drop out annually. Half the districts do not meet the goal of having at
least 95 percent of high-school students pass a reading competency test
on the first try. Only 4 attained the goal of an 80 percent passing
rate on a mathematics competency test.

Only two standards--having at least 94 percent of all elementary
children in class daily and promoting at least 96 percent of elementary
students to the next grade--were met by every district.

Georgia's state board of education has approved a course of study
about religion for optional use in the state's public schools.

Beginning in the 1991-92 school year, teachers, principals,
superintendents, school-board members, and other members of the
community will undergo voluntary training in the curriculum, "Living
with our Deepest Differences: Religious Liberty in a Pluralistic
Society."

Volunteers will learn the acceptable approach to teaching sensitive
material. "You don't teach religion; you teach about religion," said
Gwen Hutcheson, social-studies coordinator for the Georgia education
department and a member of the curriculum task force.

The curriculum emphasizes the role of religion in the history of the
United States, and, particularly, its relationship to the First
Amendment, Ms. Hutcheson said, adding that its goals include deepening
students' appreciation for religious liberty and of instilling civic
responsibility.

The nonprofit First Liberty Institute--an outgrowth of the
Williamsburg Charter Foundation, created for the bicentennial of the
U.S. Constitution--developed the curriculum.

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